Less than a month after federal regulatorsauthorizedModerna and Pfizer's modified COVID-19 boosters for emergency use, the vaccine-makers are looking for the FDA's OK on their pediatric version.
Moderna submitted an emergency use authorization request Sept. 23 for its bivalent, omicron-targeted boosters for 12- to 17-year-olds and 6- to 11-year-olds, the companytweeted. Pfizerfollowedthree days later with its application for 5- to 11-year-olds.
Currently, Moderna's updated booster shot is authorized for adults 18 and older, and Pfizer's option is authorized for ages 12 and up. As of Sept. 21, 4.4 million people — or about 1.5 percent of the U.S. population that's eligible for the new booster — havereceivedthe updated booster.
In another tweet, Modernasaidit plans to seek authorization for its omicron booster for children as young as 6 months old by the end of 2022. Pfizer did not give a projected date for its tweaked booster for the youngest population, but the drugmaker has a phase 1/2/3 clinical study underway testing it.